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NHTSA Amendment Allows Electronic Filing by Importers

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) have issued an interim Final Rule that amends NHTSA's regulation on the importation of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment subject to Federal safety, bumper and theft prevention standards by allowing importers to provide information to United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in either electronic or paper format.

Sep 03, 2015

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) have issued an interim Final Rule that amends NHTSA's regulation on the importation of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment subject to Federal safety, bumper and theft prevention standards by allowing importers to provide information to United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in either electronic or paper format.

Presently, certain regulatory provisions require importers to provide documentation or information in a “written statement” or in ways that imply the submission of a paper document, including the phrases “in duplicate,” “a copy of,”' a “document,” and “accompanied by a statement.”' Over the course of the coming months, CBP plans to allow importers to file importation information in paper format only or electronic format only.

To allow importers to choose their preferred format for filing information required by NHTSA, the agency is amending its importation regulations to specify that importers have the option to file all required information electronically, in addition to the paper option currently available.

This document is being issued as an interim Final Rule to provide timely assistance to importers by allowing alternative methods of filing with CBP the importation information required by NHTSA. The amendments in this interim Final Rule do not create any new rights or obligations, nor impose any new reporting requirements.